Landmark Aviation

Landmark Aviation (“Landmark”) was one of the largest providers of fueling and ground support services to the general and commercial aviation markets through its network of more than 75 fixed base operators (“FBOs”) in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Signatureflight.com
INDUSTRY
Aviation
Investment date
2006
EXIT DATE
2016
Headquarters
Houston, TX

Investment Overview

In addition to its network of FBOs, the company provided engine maintenance services, aircraft charter and management, and aircraft fueling and IT support services to the U.S. military. In 2012, Landmark was recapitalized by The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”). Platform received cash proceeds and also reinvested in the Carlyle transaction to retain a minority equity position in the company. In early 2016, Platform exited its investment when Landmark was sold to BBA Aviation / Signature Flight Support for approximately $2.1 billion.

Transaction Background

In 2006, Platform backed a management team led by Dan Bucaro with a $30 million commitment and no assets to pursue a start-up buy-and-build strategy in the FBO industry. The company was called Encore FBO (“Encore”) and was led by the core management team of Trajen Holdings, an FBO industry buy-and-build that was sold to an affiliate of Atlantic Aviation in 2006. During the year following the sale, Platform funded Encore and worked closely with Mr. Bucaro to build a network of eight locations in the U.S. and Europe. The company identified scale advantages of consolidation and aggressively pursued this strategy.

 

In the fall of 2007, Encore participated in the sale process of Landmark. Given the size of the company, Platform needed a financial partner and formed a partnership with GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm, to buy Landmark and merge Encore into the combined company. The senior management team from Encore continued to run Landmark out of its Houston headquarters.

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